Star Wars fandom is not a monoculture. The key introductory works for a younger generation were actually a pair of animated series: 2008’s long-running The Clone Wars and 2014’s Star Wars Rebels. Both the character of Ahsoka Tano, a former apprentice to Anakin Skywalker, and the creator of this live action spin-off, Dave Filoni, got their start on those Lucasfilm shows.

As played by Rosario Dawson, who debuted her Ahsoka in a season two episode of The Mandalorian written and directed by Filoni, the Jedi warrior will be a mystery to some viewers. That works, because Dawson plays the character with a quiet wariness (her mentor did become Darth Vader) and the best scenes feature stark, almost ceremonial, stand-offs that draw their mood from Japanese samurai classics.

There is a powerful map being sought and evil forces looking to resurrect the Empire, but the thematic sinew in the first two episodes is the frayed bonds between battle-weary women. “I go where I’m needed.” Ahsoka sagely declares, “not always” coolly replies her former apprentice, Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). There’s a surplus of exposition and familiar lightsabre battles, but Ahsoka is still more promising than last year’s Obi-Wan Kenobi. I’m sticking with it.

Heart of Stone
Netflix

My appreciation of what Tom Cruise and Christopher MacQuarrie have achieved with the Mission: Impossible movies goes up every time Netflix takes another costly, bland shot at creating an all-action spy franchise. This time it’s Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), already a monochromatic performer, dealing with paltry character writing and a generic plot that unfortunately also resembles Amazon Prime’s recent espionage bust Citadel. Jamie Dornan slots tidily into the Henry Cavill role, but there’s neither a palpable physicality to the set-pieces nor a genuine hum to the storytelling.

Killing It (season 2)
Stan

This idiosyncratic American sitcom, co-created by Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Dan Goor, was one of the under-appreciated surprises of 2022. The weirdness of Florida life and the work-arounds required to survive on the margins of American society made for drily hilarious scenarios. Craig Robinson’s Craig and Claudia O’Doherty’s Jillian – a hopeful Black small business owner and an Australian who overstayed her tourist visa – started out hunting pythons for the cash bounty, but the second season continues their comic wrangling as they enter the berry business. There’s still plenty of snakes for the pair to wrestle with.

HouseBroken (season 2)
Paramount+
The Family Guy goes to the backyard for this adult animated comedy about a group of family pets and neighbourhood strays whose days are taken up with misunderstood human rituals, most notably a support group run by poodle Honey (perfectly voiced by Lisa Kudrow). The voice cast is outrageously well-credentialed, boasting Sharon Horgan, Will Forte, Tony Hale, and co-creator Clea DuVall. The writing doesn’t always rise to their talents, but it has a tart sense of humour and a feel for the stupidities of human life can impact our animal companions.

Gun
Amazon Prime

A television curio now a quarter of a century old, this six-part anthology series – the recurring element is a pearl-handled .45 calibre pistol – played on Saturday evenings in the middle of 1997 for the American network ABC. It’s patchy, but searching through the episodes gives you a welcome slate of directors that includes Robert Altman, James Foley, and Ted Demme. A recommended episode? Columbus Day, a portrait of marital indolence that stars Rosanna Arquette and in his first television role, future Sopranos star James Gandolfini. These days American networks are showing nothing like this on a Saturday night.

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